Warriors’ shooters deal with off-nights in different ways

John Pak has made sacrifices to pursue a pro golf career. Now he’s one step closer to realizing that dream. Pak, a Florida State senior, holds the top spot in the first edition of the PGA TOUR University Ranking, putting him in the pole position to earn Korn Ferry Tour status and an exemption into Q-School’s final stage next year. Those are the rewards that will be given to the top five in the PGA TOUR U standings after next year’s NCAA Championship. PGA TOUR UNIVERSITY RANKING: Standings | How it works Pak moved to Orlando, Florida, during high school to escape New Jersey’s harsh winters and increase his practice opportunities. “That was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” said Pak, the youngest of five children. “I moved down with just my dad. Leaving them was hard because I’m very close with my family.” Pak made the most of the move. His work ethic has allowed him to make steady progress in his golf career. It was instilled in him by his father, Kwang Pak, who owned two grocery stores. “He spent hours and hours picking up the produce, spending time at the store, making sure the business was run properly,” Pak said. “He worked a lot of hours and retired at 52. He disciplined himself and that’s translated into my golf game.” John Pak won two of his last three starts before the coronavirus pandemic cut the college season short. Last week’s Southern Amateur was his first event since, and he tied for sixth, five shots behind SMU senior McClure Meissner, who is No. 7 in the PGA TOUR U Ranking. He’s spent the past few months in Tallahassee, Florida, to take advantage of the Seminoles’ training facilities. He often puts in two practice sessions per day, working on his game six to seven hours per day. He loves the process of improving. When asked about his favorite aspect of the game, he said, “The fact that I want to be better. It’s such a difficult game. When things aren’t going right, I need to practice and work at it until I get it right.” The work has paid off. Pak has won seven times while playing for the Seminoles, including six of his past 16 starts. He is one short of the school wins record, an impressive achievement for a program that boasts PGA TOUR winners Brooks Koepka, Hubert Green, Daniel Berger, Kenny Knox, Nolan Henke and Jonas Blixt among its alumni. As a sophomore, John had the lowest scoring average in school history (69.6 strokes). He finished first or second in more than half his starts that season, including four victories. He also set the school record for single-season scoring average (69.6) and was named a first-team All-American. His scoring average was even lower last season (69.4), but Pak played just five events before it was canceled. “Everything he does, he’s consistent,” Florida State head coach Trey Jones said. “His daily routines, his habits. It shows on the course. “He’s not going to show up late. He knows what he’s going to do every day. He doesn’t wait until he gets to the course to figure it out. He has his disciplines that he does.” Pak recently added stretching to the routine. Making practice swings in front of a full-length mirror to check his positions. That meticulous training has made consistent ball-striking the hallmark of his game. “His ball just doesn’t move,” Jones said. “It’s comical at times how straight he hits it.” His game is not one-dimensional, though. That was proven with his performance in last year’s Walker Cup on the links of Royal Liverpool. Pak earned his spot on the team after winning the 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference championship, being named a first-team All-American and advancing to the Round of 16 in both the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur. Pak was the only player on either team to go undefeated. He was 3-0 in one foursomes and two singles matches. In the final session, Pak won the last two holes to defeat the reigning British Amateur champion, James Sugrue, and help his team to the largest victory by a visiting U.S. team since 1987. “That experience was incredible,” Pak said. “I feel like if I could perform under that kind of pressure, I can perform under anything. It taught me a lot. That was probably the most nervous I’ve been in my entire life.” It was good preparation for the PGA TOUR, a place that PGA TOUR University can help him reach.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jordan Spieth has displayed a new skill set in 2017, and it’s one that we still have to get accustomed to. His ballstriking has been the key to his success, while his trusty putter has failed to live up to his standards. That was the case again Thursday as Spieth began his pursuit of the career Grand Slam at Quail Hollow. This is a course that requires players to drive the ball well, and Spieth leaned heavily on the longest club in his bag. It was the shortest one that frustrated him, though. “It was just the putter,â€� Spieth said after a first-round 72 that left him five shots behind leader Thorbjorn Olesen. Spieth had 32 putts Thursday, and didn’t make a putt longer than 5 feet. “If you told me I was going to hit my driver the way that I did today, I would have definitely thought I shot a few under par,â€� Spieth said. “I can’t putt any worse than I did today.” This was only the fifth time this season that Spieth had 32 or more putts. It was his fifth-worst performance in Strokes Gained: Putting (-2.15 strokes) this season, as well. If Spieth is to become the youngest player ever to complete the career Grand Slam – and this is his lone opportunity to break Tiger Woods’ record – then Spieth will have to win in a way that is unprecedented for him. Spieth has never finished in the top 10 in a major after shooting over par in the first round. His best finish was a T11 at this year’s Masters, where he shot a first-round 75 after making a quadruple-bogey at the 15th hole. He battled to within two shots of the lead after 54 holes, but shot another 75 in the last round. Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, used that tournament as inspiration when Spieth arrived at the seventh tee Thursday at 3 over par. “He goes, ‘Grind these last few. You had a chance to win Augusta and we were in a worse position at this point,’â€� Spieth said. “And he was spot on.â€� They knew birdie opportunities awaited, at Quail Hollow’s par-5 seventh and the short, par-4 eighth hole. There was still the possibility to turn in an even-par scorecard. “If I were to finish par, par, par, I would have thrown myself out of the tournament,â€� Spieth said. Instead, he made two birdies and a solid par at the final hole. His rally started with a 296-yard drive into the fairway at the seventh hole. His playing partners, Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia, had to lay-up after missing the fairway, but Spieth was able to hit a hybrid that just trickled through the green and set-up a two-putt birdie. A 290-yard drive into the fairway on the next hole set up a 57-yard approach that he knocked stiff. Spieth hit 10 of 14 fairways while averaging 298.8 yards on all tee shots. He gained 2.03 strokes off the tee Thursday, his second-best performance in that stat this season. He also hit 12 of 18 greens. “If I would have shot 1 over and didn’t strike it well and everything was average, it would have been fine. But when I had the chances that I had and I just couldn’t get the ball to go in on the greens, that is when I get the most frustrated I can get out there,â€� Spieth said. He is in the midst of the best ballstriking season of his career, leading the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. Earlier this year, he said that his playoff victory at the Travelers Championship was the first time that he won on the PGA TOUR without putting well. His Open Championship win, the one that set the stage for the career Grand Slam, will be remembered for the long putts he holed down the stretch, but he also wasn’t content with his putting performance at Royal Birkdale. He ranks 47th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season, his worst ranking in that statistic in his career. Spieth, who teed off on No. 10 on Thursday, missed a downhill, 8-foot birdie putt at the par-3 13th. He drove the green at the next hole, but his 120-foot eagle putt rolled off the back of the green, leading to par. Spieth also three-putted the sixth and seven holes from just off the green. He missed 10-foot par putts on both holes. “He didn’t make as many putts as he usually does. I feel like that 15- to 20-foot range, usually see him make a bunch of putts. He just didn’t make any,â€� said Koepka, who shot 68. “He had a couple putts that he just ran 10, 15 feet by. But he struck it really well.â€� Spieth knows he has ground to make up. He has started with 68 or better in all three of his major wins. He held the 36-hole and 54-hole leads in all three victories, as well. “I know I’m still in it, but I know that tomorrow’s round becomes that much more important. … I’ve got to make up ground,” Spieth said. “If I’m five back at the start of the day, I’ve got to be less than five back after Friday to really feel like I can play the way this golf course needs to be played and still be able to win.”

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ERIN, Wis. – News and notes from Friday’s second round of the U.S. Open. CASEY GETS HOT AFTER SNOWMAN Five holes into his round, Paul Casey had just suffered a triple bogey at the par-5 14th. His round, perhaps his entire tournament, was now hanging in the balance. Could he bounce back or would he unravel? His caddie, John McLaren, was unusually quiet. “You all right?â€� Casey asked. Replied McLaren: “Oh, fine. I’m good. Are you all right?â€� Replied Casey: “Yeah.â€� Actually, Casey was more than all right. Although he followed the triple with a bogey on the next hole, Casey was determined not to let one bad hole define his round. He birdied the 17th and 18th holes going into the turn, then kept the hot streak going with three more birdies to start his second nine. The five consecutive birdies – one short of the U.S. Open record — allowed him to salvage a 1-under 71 that leaves him at 7 under entering the weekend as he chases the first major of his career. “Not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an 8 on the card,â€� Casey said, “but I’m a pretty happy man.â€� Casey credited his experience – he turned pro in 2000 – with helping to prevent the wheels from coming off. He didn’t panic. He didn’t rush to make up the shots. And he didn’t dwell on his one bad swing. “I was upset with the score I had made,â€� Casey said, “but it had, in no way, any effect on my attitude or how I was going to then approach the rest of the round or the next shot.â€� That kind of approach should serve him well this weekend. AMATEUR SHOWDOWN: AGGIE VS. LONGHORN Two amateurs have made the cut. One is from the University of Texas (Scottie Scheffler). The other is from Texas A&M (Cameron Champ). Usually, that’s a Hatfields-and-McCoys type of relationship. But not this week at Erin Hills, even though both players will battle for low amateur honors this weekend. “Me and Scottie are really good friends,â€� Champ said. “So it will be kind of fun.â€� The two have known each other since playing together in a junior amateur event in Japan several years ago. “That’s when we became pretty close,â€� Scheffler said. Champ has the advantage going into the third round. He’s 5 under after his 69 on Friday, while Scheffler is at 1 under following a 74. On Erin Hills’ lengthy layout, Champ has been relying on his prodigious length off the tee. He leads the field in driving distance with a 339.3-yard average (two holes are used to measure distance this week). Champ blasted a 355.1-yard drive on the 17th hole Thursday and a 341.4 yarder on Friday. “In college, I normally am the longest,â€� Champ said. “Yeah, I guess I’ve just kind of always been that way. I don’t talk about it much. You’ve still got to make a score. Here if you can hit it long and straight, it’s a great advantage. “I took advantage of it the last few days.â€� Though Scheffler has some ground to make up, he’s not going to spend the final two rounds worrying about how Champ is playing. “Top amateur would be nice, but I’m more focused on how I finish with the entire field,â€� Scheffler said. “It would certainly be very special to be the low am, but I think that will just come with how I play. I’m not really going to focus on that this weekend.â€� MORE LIKE A U.S. OPEN COURSE After a U.S. Open-record 44 rounds under par on Thursday, players expected a more difficult set-up for Erin Hills on Friday. That’s what they got — faster and firmer greens with trickier pin placements. “Definitely a lot more like a U.S. Open today than yesterday,â€� said Marc Leishman, who shot an even-par 72 after his 68 in the first round. “Guess that didn’t like Rickie shooting 7-under yesterday, so they’ll keep reeling it back closer to par,â€� added Harris English, who is also at 4 under after shooting a 68 on Friday. “We knew it was coming today,â€� said William McGirt, who shot a 71 to move to 3 under. “That was no secret.â€� Wind is one of Erin Hills’ primary defenses, but thus far it has not made a major impact on scoring. If the USGA wants to toughen up the course, it will need to rely on other measures. But please, said McGirt — don’t go overboard. “I think the greens are going to get faster and the hole locations aren’t going to get easier,â€� McGirt said. “I think [Thursday] was about as easy as you’re ever going to have it at a U.S. Open. I just hope with the wind direction, they use their head in setting up the tees.â€� BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA Erin Hills looking like a good venue so far, plenty of good scores & plenty of bad ones – always a good sign in my book #usopen— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) June 16, 2017 Father’s Day weekend goals ðŸ�Œï¸�👀☺ï¸� pic.twitter.com/fVfAwa4Ha7— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2017 Just … perfect. 👌https://t.co/zVykOCPblH— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2017 Cut looks like it’s gonna be at least 2 shots lower at the US Open than it was at Colonial… 😳— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 16, 2017

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